Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity
Born: 18 May 1905, Headingley, Leeds, Yorkshire
Died: 31 July 1943, Caserta, Italy
Major Teams: Yorkshire, England.
Known As: Hedley Verity
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Slow Left Arm Orthodox
Test Debut: England v New Zealand at The Oval, 2nd Test, 1931
Last Test: England v West Indies at Lord's, 1st Test, 1939
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1932
Career Statistics:
TESTS
(career)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 40 44 12 669 66* 20.90 0 3 30 0
Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 11173 604 3510 144 24.37 8-43 5 2 77.5 1.88
FIRST-CLASS
(career: 1930 - 1939)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 378 416 106 5605 101 18.08 1 13 269 0
Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 82676 4578 29146 1956 14.90 10-10 164 54 42.2 2.11
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
StatsGuru Filters for Hedley Verity
Profile:
A wonderfully gifted left-arm spin bowler, Hedley Verity was born in the
shadow of Headingley in 1905 and died from his wounds in a prisoner-of-war
hospital camp in Caserta, Italy, during the Second World War at the age of
38. It was a tragic end to a life that had given so much to the world of
cricket.
It seems strange to think that Verity was originally turned down by
Yorkshire at trials in 1926, but he was eventually given a chance by the
county in 1930 and, of course, became a fixture until the start of the war.
He was the natural successor to that other great Yorkshire left-arm spinner,
Wilfred Rhodes, whose career drew to a close in 1930 after an amazing 883
games for the county. Verity was never going to get close - Hitler saw to
that - but he did turn out for Yorkshire 278 times and in that time he
produced some remarkable bowling analyses.
In 1931 he took ten for 36 off 18.4 overs against Warwickshire at Leeds,
but incredibly he bettered these figures the following season by taking ten
for ten in 19.4 overs against Nottinghamshire, also at Headingley. They
remain the county's best bowling figures for an innings while Verity's 17
for 91 against Essex at Leyton in 1933 remain Yorkshire's best bowling in a
match. Verity claimed nine wickets in an innings seven times for Yorkshire.
He took 100 wickets in a season nine times and took 200 wickets in three
consecutive seasons between 1935-37. He ended with 1,956 first-class wickets
at an average of 14.9, took five wickets in an innings 164 times and ten
wickets in a match 54 times. On 1 September, 1939, in the last first-class
match before war was declared, he took seven for nine at Hove against
Sussex.
The year after he first appeared for Yorkshire, Verity made his England
debut against New Zealand at The Oval, finishing the game with four wickets.
After that summer he was ignored until 1932/33, the Bodyline Series, in
which he took 11 wickets, including Bradman twice. By the time his career
was over, Verity had dismissed Bradman ten times, a figure matched only by
Grimmett. As with his domestic career, Verity's international performances
threw up some astonishing bowling figures. He took eight for 43 and finished
with match figures of 15 for 104 against Australia at Lord's in 1934. His
stamina was demonstrated during the 1938-39 tour of South Africa when he
bowled 95.6 eight-ball overs in an innings at Durban, taking four for 184.
By the time war arrived, Verity had taken 144 wickets at 24.37.
During the war he was a captain in the Green Howards. He sustained his
wounds in the battle of Catania in Sicily and died on 31 July, 1943. His
grave is at Caserta Military Cemetery, some 16 miles from Naples. (Copyright
CricInfo 2001)
Last Updated: Tuesday, 30-Jul-2002 03:05:08 GMT
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